Jiang Wen is not lacking in talent, and he may even be the most talented director and actor in Chinese films at present, but when the general values of this society are swaying, he has to prove that in addition to his talent, he also has box office appeal. . The box office failure of "The Sun Also Rises" in 2007 seems to be his eternal pain, but for that failure, the publicity method must be somewhat responsible, because even a Hollywood blockbuster such as "Inception" has a complicated plot. , will not focus on "Do you understand?" As the propaganda focus, "The Sun Also Rises" starts by provoking the audience's IQ, which is naturally a complete failure.
"Let the Bullets Fly" honestly uses the slogan "Make an understandable story", and adopts a fantastic all-star lineup. The plot is so simple that it can be summed up in only three words "removing bullies". Jiang Wen seems to no longer hide and seek with the audience. He wants to make the audience feel that every place is worth the price, but he must maintain his author style. Just like the lines in the film, Jiang Wen hopes to "make money by standing", just to get the best of both worlds between the box office and the quality of the work. Therefore, the film has no rhythm, or the rhythm is out of control, and every scene has spectacles and funny lines, and the audience has to react. In the early stage of the first day of the screening, which I watched, the audience burst into laughter more than 40 times in 140 minutes, and applauded spontaneously at the end of the film, which seemed to prove the effectiveness of this method and the commercial value of the film.
But behind "Let the Bullets Fly" pretend to be crazy and sell stupid, there is still Jiang Wen's own abacus. The core values of the film can be seen not only as a heartwarming victory for the protagonist, but also as Jiang Wen's own need to win in reality, a sure-fire victory at the box office. However, Jiang Wen's final cold feeling about victory in the protagonist played by Jiang Wen in the film reflects Jiang Wen's own cold feeling about box office demand. The anti-climax ending and the nihilism of violent revolution reflected in Italian director Leone's "Revolutionary Past" The feeling is in the same line, which itself has become Jiang Wen's psychological attempt to overthrow the bully in business (I don't know whether this bully refers to the box-office theory or those "bullies" at the box office) or to create a new world at the box office.
It is precisely because of the indifference to victory that in addition to commercial gimmicks, the film still carries Jiang Wen's criticism of the human nature and reality of the Chinese people in his previous works. Many of the passages and dialogues in the film are full of puzzling and challenging reading fun, even like discarded fragments from "The Sun Also Rises" or "The Devil Is Coming". Jiang Wen abnormally used the exact same soundtrack as "The Sun Also Rises" in the film, which to a large extent confirms Jiang Wen's anger, or that he thinks that there is no need to use a new soundtrack to support such a line. The amount and amount of information are huge to dazzling blockbusters, and it is also manifested in that he will take the trouble to provide the best position for some content and lines that have nothing to do with the plot or the details do not make sense, thereby conveying his feelings for the work itself. The "author" expects.
For example, the bloody act played by Zhang Mo in order to prove his innocence (because of this paragraph, it is best for child audiences not to watch this film), which is almost exactly the same as some news reports we see every day, who can say that this is not a time Connect with reality? Another example is the provocation and end of the decisive battle at the end of the film, isn't it an analysis and criticism of human nature (just like the farmers who finally won in "Seven Samurai")? And Chow Yun-fat's character line said "five generations of family property" is once again the same as the "fifth generation" in "The Devil is Coming", is it a joke that only film people can understand?
It is in the obsession and expression of these ideas and details that the commercial considerations and self-expression of "Let the Bullets Fly" seem to contradict each other, so the film's brilliance and excess stumble. For example, the role played by Ge You suddenly has a wife and son who play soy sauce. Although this has become the foreshadowing of the fate of Ge You's character, in fact, these two sudden and lingering characters exist only to create jokes. It also makes sense that a twist of fortune could be paved in other ways.
Going back to the lines, Jiang Wen hopes to be "high and hard" this time. The height and hardness of "Let the Bullets Fly" are far from surpassing his "Sunny Days" and "The Devil Is Coming", business and self The expression's attempt to achieve two birds with one stone did not come to fruition. The only thing it can do is to let a really talented Chinese director meet an ideal rich second-generation producer. This fairy tale that people thought would not happen in reality finally changed in the winter of the end of 2010. It became a pile of film waiting for the audience to test.
Print media do not transfer, it has been published in "Southern Metropolis Daily" published on 2010.12.18
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